Cork city manager Joe Gavin has welcomed the decision of An Bord Pleanála to confirm a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for 10 hectares of land in the city that will facilitate the development of a park to service a €2 billion development of the city's south docklands. The board has confirmed that Cork City Council can proceed with the CPO of the properties, which include some 8.7 hectares owned by the Munster Agriculture Society at the Cork Showgrounds in Ballintemple in the southeastern corner of the city. Last November, both the city council and the agricultural society made submissions at an oral hearing held by the planning board over the issue of whether the council could proceed with a CPO of the property, which is adjacent to Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The agricultural society has leased the showgrounds from the council since 1892 and is just 19 years into a 99-year lease of the property, which is used to host agricultural shows and other events such as Funderland.
